Drinking Salt For Your Benefit: Baking Soda

Now this tip is a source of controversy but it is such a heavily discussed remedy that I decided to try it out myself and have personally felt the benefits from it.

Whilst this is definitely NOT one of my favourite remedies, it does work and if you can get over the fairly unpleasant taste (it took me a while but now I’m totally used to it) this will bring you loads of benefits.

The concoction is something that you won’t even need to jot down here it is:

Directions
Mix either a ½ teaspoon or 1 single teaspoon of baking soda into a glass of water that is no more than 8 ounces. Give it a good stir and drink all of the mixture. You can repeat this as needed but should not exceed seven ½ teaspoon doses in a 24 hour period. Also, avoid using this as a remedy for more than a week straight, as it is high in salt and can have side effects such as swelling or nausea.

If you really cannot drink it on its own, I tend to add juice or cordial concentrate to sweeten it up.

Now before you go and dismiss drinking this salty brine water, let me tell you just why it is so good for you. Whilst there have been numerous touted benefits of drinking baking soda, I will discuss two benefits that have been scientifically proven.

Heartburn

Heartburn is awful and unfortunately most adults will experience it during their lifetime. It is characterized by an uncomfortable burning sensation right behind the breastbone that often times creeps up the throat, and is a symptom more so than a disease. It is caused by acid reflux, which occurs when the ring of muscle that allows food into your stomach (the lower esophageal sphincter, or LES) relaxes when it shouldn’t. The result is acid from your stomach goes back up your esophagus, which then causes the sensation of heartburn. 

Think about it…its acid burning your throat…ouch! A spoonful of sodium bicarbonate, or teaspoon-full to be exact, can help put an end to the gnawing, burning, sensation of heartburn caused by acid reflux. Baking soda can help your reflux and in turn help your heartburn because it is a base substance: it has a pH higher than 7.0, and therefore neutralizes stomach acid. Neutralizing the stomach acid means that if/when your LES decides to be lazy and acid comes up your throat, you don’t get “burned.” (see here for the article)

Athletic performance

For all you athletes or fitness fanatics, baking soda is found to increase how long you can train for. In a study with well-trained cyclists, there was a statistically significant increase in performance both with acute ‘loading’ of baking soda, as well as chronic use in 3 daily doses. Both acute and chronic consumption increased average power output in a 4-minute performance test on a cycling ergometer.

In the same study, Baking soda doesn’t just act as an ergogenic agent in short duration exertion either – it also enhances performance when engaging in exercise for longer periods of time. 80 males ran 14 second sprints with 16 seconds of rest for a period of 30 minutes, followed by a period of rest, only to start sprinting again. Many studies have used approximately 300mg/kg prior to exercise or testing to increase performance. This has been a dose that is consistently reliable in increasing peak and average power, time to exhaustion, and so on. Many studies use a 60 minute ‘absorption period’ where baking soda is delivered in one serving. Some have used baking soda taken throughout a time period ranging from 30-90 minutes prior to testing, but based on all the studies conducted, dosage 60 to 90 minutes prior to exercise seems to be the most recommended timeframe. (see here for the full article) 

This really does work: I take the drink about 30 minutes to an hour before a workout and it helps SO much. Try it next time and see the difference for yourself.

WARNING

You can always have too much of a good thing and that phrase especially applies to baking soda: please use it sparingly. Whilst it can provide such benefits you need to be aware it is high in sodium as well.

Have you tried this tip? What do you think of it’s effectiveness? I would love to hear your stories in the comments below :)